Confederate Spy - Out of Place Graves on Waymarking.com

She was born in Martinsburg, Virginia. Her espionage career began on July 4, 1861, a band of drunken Union soldiers broke into her home in Martinsburg, intent on raising the U.S. flag over the house. When one of them insulted her mother, Belle drew a pistol and killed him. She was 17 at the time. She was exonerated, but sentries were posted to keep track of her activities. She charmed Capt. Daniel Keily getting military secrets which she conveyed to Confederate officers via her slave, Eliza Hopewell, who carried the messages in a hollowed-out watch case.
She rode thru Union lines to inform Col. Turner Ashby and then later informed General Stonewall Jackson's men that "the Yankee force is very small. Tell him to charge right down and he will catch them all." She received a penned note of gratitude from Jackson, "I thank you, for myself and for the army, for the immense service that you have rendered your country today." She was awarded the Southern Cross of Honor. She was also given Captain and Honorary Aide-de-Camp positions. She was arrested on July 29, 1862, and held for a month in the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, then released. She was later arrested and imprisoned a second time, but again was set free.
In 1886 she began touring the country giving dramatic lectures on her life as a Confederate Spy. While in Kilbourne City, Wisconsin on June 11, 1900, she died of typhoid and was buried in Spring Grove Cemetery in Kilbourne City (now known as Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin).

First Name: Maria Isabella Last Name: Boyd Born: 05/04/1844 Died: 06/11/1900

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